Feyenoord manager Arne Slot has confirmed he will be succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool next season - but it could have been a very different profile of manager preparing for life in the Anfield dugout next season.
In a press conference on Friday, Slot told reporters: "I can confirm that I will become the trainer there next year." Of course, Slot's appointment at Anfield has not been officially confirmed by the Reds yet but it is now only a matter of time before the Dutchman's era begins.
However, it could have been an altogether different appointment this summer according to reports in the media on Friday. The ECHO has taken a closer look at what has been doing the rounds in our latest media watch.
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Liverpool could have appointed Michael Carrick
According to The Athletic's David Ornstein, the Manchester United legend and current Middlesbrough boss Carrick ranked highly on the club's data analysis of potential replacements for Klopp next season. The 42-year-old led Boro to eighth in the Championship, four points outside the play-off places.
What the ECHO says: While Carrick is undoubtedly becoming one of the better young English managers, appointing him at Anfield would have been a huge risk. The successor to Klopp is a huge responsibility as is, and the pressure is enormous on Slot's shoulders. But had they appointed Carrick that would have been ramped up further due to his United connections. Carrick has also yet to hold a permanent managerial role in the Premier League so the step-up would have been too much, too soon. Definitely a bullet dodged.
Liverpool to ramp up talks with three key players
Ornstein has also revealed that with Richard Hughes soon to begin his role at the club, talks will soon start to take place with three key players over new contracts - Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah. The trio are all out of contract at the end of next season and the preference is to keep all three men.
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However, there is apparently plenty of hurdles between that being a wish and actually becoming a reality.
What the ECHO says: It cannot quite be emphasised how big a summer this could be for Liverpool. Being at risk of losing just one of these men would be a tricky task for a new manager to overcome in his first summer but all three is far from ideal. Out of the trio, Salah seems the most likely to head towards the exit door at the end of his contract so perhaps this summer is the time to try and seal him a move to the Saudi Pro League, if that is his wish. Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold need to be tied down to new deals though. They are two stalwarts at this club and could be hugely beneficially as the Reds try to navigate this post-Klopp era.
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